CN110758974A

CN110758974A - Goods sorting and conveying device, goods sorting system and goods sorting method

Info

Publication number: CN110758974A
Application number: CN201810835874.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 韩松
Original assignee: Beijing Jingdong Zhenshi Information Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Jingdong Zhenshi Information Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-07-26
Filing date: 2018-07-26
Publication date: 2020-02-07
Also published as: WO2020020357A1; US20210292089A1; JP2021532036A; JP7359835B2

Abstract

The invention relates to a goods picking and conveying device, a goods picking system and a goods picking method, wherein the conveying device comprises a rail (30) which is arranged on a ceiling (12) of a warehouse, and a goods picking container (1) can move along the rail (30); and the container scanning controller (5) is used for identifying the picking containers (1) and obtaining the flow direction information of the picking containers (1) according to the identification result so as to move each picking container (1) to the corresponding rechecking station. The goods sorting and conveying device can reduce the occupation of the ground space of the warehouse during automatic production, improve the commodity storage rate of the ground space in the warehouse, and further improve the types and the quantity of commodities stored in the warehouse, so that the goods sorting and conveying device can be suitable for being used in large warehouses, urban interior door points or large supermarkets, and the universality is improved. Moreover, the container scanning controller can obtain the flow direction information of the picking containers by identifying the picking containers so as to move each picking container to the corresponding rechecking table, thereby improving the automation degree of the goods conveying process.

Description

Goods sorting and conveying device, goods sorting system and goods sorting method

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of logistics storage, in particular to a goods sorting and conveying device, a goods sorting system and a goods sorting method.

Background

With the explosion of online shopping, the shopping website has millions of orders generated every day, and the warehouse picker of the warehouse logistics company picks the orders in the warehouse. The time spent by the pickers in the warehouse in the picking process directly influences the time for the goods to reach the hands of the customers. Therefore, many warehouse logistics companies place great importance on the picking efficiency of warehouse pickers.

Particularly, the new retail concept is provided, so that the combination of online and offline physical stores promotes the storage of commodities not to be limited to a special large warehouse, and the warehouse has a large building area and is distributed in suburbs of cities, so that the commodities can be stored in door points in the cities or in supermarkets, particularly the supermarkets, the on-site shopping requirements of customers are met, the production and distribution of online orders can be supported, and the production timeliness and the user experience of the orders are improved. This mode is also the main direction of current investment for each large e-commerce platform.

In the existing large warehouse, after the goods are picked up by a goods picker, two modes are generally adopted to convey the goods containers to the rechecking and packaging table, one mode is to convey the goods containers to the rechecking and packaging table through a goods picking vehicle, and the goods on the goods picking vehicle are conveyed to the rechecking and packaging table by the long distance of the goods picker, which is large in physical consumption for the goods picker. The second is through the conveyer belt, namely the picking person puts the goods container after finishing examining the goods on the conveyer belt, convey to recheck the packing table automatically by the conveyer belt, this kind of way does not need picking person's repetitive shuttling in the warehouse, has saved the physical power; however, the second method requires a large warehouse area for building the conveyor belt equipment, and the area requirement on the warehouse is large, so that the equipment is generally installed in a large warehouse in a suburban area by using the method. However, in the middle of large businessmen inside cities, the off-line production of on-line orders is difficult to realize in a conveyor belt manner.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a goods sorting and conveying device, a goods sorting system and a goods sorting method, which can save the occupied space of a goods conveying device so as to improve the universality of the conveying device.

To achieve the above object, a first aspect of the embodiments of the present invention provides a cargo picking and conveying device, including:

the track is arranged on the suspended ceiling of the warehouse, and the picking container can move along the track; and

and the container scanning controller is used for identifying the picking containers and obtaining the flow direction information of the picking containers according to the identification result so as to move each picking container to the corresponding rechecking table.

Further, the flow direction information includes a moving path along the track and a reviewing table number.

Further, the review platform includes single container review platform and container confluence review platform, and the track includes:

a main track;

the first branch track is used for guiding the goods picking container to move from the main track to the container confluence rechecking table; and

and a second branch rail for guiding the picking container to move from the main rail to the single container rechecking station.

Furthermore, the goods picking and conveying device also comprises a track steering mechanism which is arranged at the joint of the main track and the two branch tracks and is used for receiving a control signal of the container scanning controller and adjusting the main track to be communicated with the branch tracks to be entered.

Further, the linkage segment of first branch track and main track is in on the main track extension line, and the linkage segment of second branch track and main track becomes angle setting with the main track, and wherein, track steering mechanism includes:

the first end of the turning slideway is connected with the second branch rail; and

and the movable slide way is used for receiving a control signal of the container scanning controller and switching between a first position and a second position, the first position is positioned between the main track and the first branch track, and the second position is opposite to the second end of the turning slide way.

Furthermore, the goods picking and conveying device also comprises a separation trigger which is arranged on the track and at the position corresponding to each rechecking table and is used for triggering after receiving a release instruction of the container scanning controller so as to separate the picking containers from the track and enter the corresponding rechecking tables.

Furthermore, the goods picking and conveying device also comprises a container slide which is arranged between the track and the rechecking table and is used for guiding the picking containers separated from the track to the rechecking table.

Further, the goods picking and conveying device further comprises a hanging piece used for hanging the goods picking container, the rail comprises a fixed rail and a sliding rail, the fixed rail is arranged on the ceiling, the sliding rail is arranged in a sliding mode relative to the fixed rail, and the hanging piece is arranged on the sliding rail and can move along with the sliding rail.

Further, the first branch track and the second branch track form a closed transmission path with the main track.

Furthermore, the main track is provided with a mounting area for loading the goods picking container on the main track.

Further, the goods picking and conveying device further comprises an interval maintaining component which is arranged on the main track and is positioned at the downstream position of the mounting area and used for maintaining the preset distance interval between the adjacent picking containers by judging the time difference of the adjacent picking containers passing through the interval maintaining component.

To achieve the above object, a second aspect of the present invention provides a cargo picking system comprising:

the goods picking and conveying device of the embodiment;

a picking container for receiving goods;

and the rechecking platform is used for rechecking and packaging the goods in the goods picking container.

Further, the review station comprises:

the single container rechecking platform is used for rechecking and packaging the goods in the single goods picking container; and

and the container confluence rechecking platform is used for rechecking and packaging the goods in the multiple goods picking containers in a unified way.

Further, the goods contained in each pick-up container are a plurality of orders of goods, and part or all of the goods of one order.

Furthermore, the goods picking system also comprises a background service system which is used for receiving corresponding information of order goods and picking containers provided from the outside and determining flow direction information of the picking containers by combining the orders;

the receptacle scan controller is configured to obtain flow direction information for a current pick receptacle from the background service system based on the identification of the pick receptacle.

Furthermore, the goods picking system also comprises a background service system which is used for receiving corresponding information of order goods and picking containers provided from the outside;

the rechecking platform is in communication connection with the background service system and is used for providing information of whether the order goods are correct, the packaging type and/or whether the current picking container needs to be split/combined after the picking container is identified.

In order to achieve the above object, a third aspect of the present invention provides a conveying method based on the above cargo picking and conveying device, including:

moving the pick container along the track;

the container scanning controller identifies the picking containers and obtains the flow direction information of the picking containers according to the identification result so as to move each picking container to the corresponding rechecking table.

Further, the step of obtaining the flow direction information of the picking containers by the container scanning controller according to the identification result so that each picking container moves to the corresponding rechecking station specifically comprises:

the container scanning controller obtains a branch track to be entered by the picking container and the serial number of the rechecking table according to the identification result;

the container scanning controller moves the picking container from the main track to the container confluence rechecking station through the first branch track or to the single container rechecking station through the second branch track.

Further, after obtaining the flow direction information of the picking container, the method further comprises the following steps:

the container scanning controller sends a state control signal to the track steering mechanism;

and the track steering mechanism receives the state control signal and adjusts the state to connect the main track with the branch track to be entered.

Further, during the process that the current picking container moves from the track to the rechecking station, the method further comprises the following steps:

the container scanning controller judges whether the goods picking container reaches a preset rechecking table, if so, a release instruction is sent to the disengagement trigger, otherwise, the goods picking container continues to move;

the separation trigger triggers after receiving the release instruction, so that the picking container is separated from the branch track and enters the corresponding rechecking table.

Further, the step of the container scanning controller determining whether the picking container reaches the predetermined review station specifically includes:

the container scanning controller judges whether the picking container reaches the predetermined rechecking table according to the time required for the picking container to leave the container scanning controller and reach the predetermined rechecking table.

identifying the picking container through a scanning component arranged on the disengaging trigger and sending the identification result to the container scanning controller;

and the container scanning controller judges whether the picking container at the current disengagement trigger reaches a preset rechecking table or not according to the identification result, if so, a release instruction is sent to the current disengagement trigger, and if not, the picking container is enabled to continue moving.

Further, in the case that the container rechecking station fails or the rechecking capability does not meet the delivery quantity of the picking container, the method further comprises the following steps:

at least a portion of the pick containers are moved from the branch rails to the main rail to continue movement of the pick containers about the closed transport path.

Furthermore, when the picking container moves to the container confluence rechecking table, the picking container belonging to the same order task moves to the same container confluence rechecking table.

Based on the technical scheme, the goods picking and conveying device provided by the embodiment of the invention has the advantages that the track is arranged on the ceiling of the warehouse, the occupation of the ground space of the warehouse during automatic production can be reduced, the goods storage rate of the ground space in the warehouse is improved, the types and the quantity of goods stored in the warehouse are improved, and therefore, the goods picking and conveying device is suitable for being used in large warehouses, urban interior door points or large supermarkets, and the universality is improved. Moreover, the container scanning controller can obtain the flow direction information of the picking containers by identifying the picking containers so as to move each picking container to the corresponding rechecking table, thereby improving the automation degree of the goods conveying process.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the invention without limiting the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the configuration of one embodiment of the cargo picking system of the present invention disposed in a warehouse;

FIG. 2 is a side view of one embodiment of a track in the cargo picking conveyor of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic end view of one embodiment of the track of the cargo picking conveyor of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic structural view of one embodiment of a rail steering structure in the cargo picking and conveying device of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the position switching of the movable slide in the track-steering mechanism of FIG. 4;

figure 6 is a control schematic of one embodiment of the cargo picking system of the present invention.

Description of the reference numerals

1. A goods picking container; 2. a suspension member; 21. hooking; 3. a mounting area; 30. a track; 31. fixing a track; 32. a sliding track; 4. a space holding member; 5. a container scanning controller; 6. a track steering mechanism; 61. moving the slideway; 62. a turning slideway; 63. a guide rail; 7. a disengagement trigger; 8. a container chute; 9. a single container review station; 10. a container confluence rechecking station; 11. a shelf; 12. a suspended ceiling; 13. a background service system; A. a main track; B. a first branch track; C. a second branch track.

Detailed Description

The present invention is described in detail below. In the following paragraphs, different aspects of the embodiments are defined in more detail. Aspects so defined may be combined with any other aspect or aspects unless clearly indicated to the contrary. In particular, any feature considered to be preferred or advantageous may be combined with one or more other features considered to be preferred or advantageous.

The terms "first", "second", and the like in the present invention are merely for convenience of description to distinguish different constituent elements having the same name, and do not denote a sequential or primary-secondary relationship.

In the description of the present invention, the directions or positional relationships indicated by "upper", "lower", "top", "bottom", "front", "rear", "inner" and "outer" and the like are used based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for convenience of describing the present invention, and do not indicate or imply that the device referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed in a specific direction and be operated, and thus, should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 1 to 6, a goods picking system is illustrated, which includes a goods picking transport device, a picking container 1 and a rechecking station, wherein the picking container 1 is used for accommodating goods, a picker picks the goods according to orders, removes the goods on the orders from corresponding shelves 11 and places the goods into the picking container 1, and the goods accommodated in each picking container 1 are goods of a plurality of orders, and part or all of the goods of one order. The order picker scans the goods information through the mobile terminal in the order picking process and uploads the goods information to the background service system 13.

The goods picking container 1 is transferred to a rechecking table through the goods picking and conveying device, the rechecking table is used for splitting orders of the goods in the goods picking container 1, rechecking whether each order goods is correct or not, and packaging the goods corresponding to each order. The rechecking table adopts a Rebin sorting table, is similar to a nine-square grid, can bind nine orders at the same time, and distributes a plurality of order commodities to different squares.

The present invention improves upon cargo picking conveyors and, in one illustrative embodiment, includes a track 30 and a container scanning controller 5. Wherein rails 30 are provided on the ceiling 12 of the warehouse, and the picking containers 1 can be moved along the rails 30. Specifically, the picking container 1 is driven to move by the movement of the rail 30; or the track 30 may be stationary and the picking container 1 may be moved directly by the drive means, all in an alternative manner. The container scanning controller 5 is used for identifying the picking containers 1, for example, a barcode or a two-dimensional code or other identifier is arranged on the picking container 1, the serial numbers of the picking containers 1 are identified by scanning, and the flow direction information of the picking containers 1 is obtained according to the identification result, so that each picking container 1 moves to a corresponding rechecking station.

The flow direction information includes the path of travel of the pick container 1 along the track 30 and the review station number, which are stored in the back-office service system 13. After the container scanning controller 5 identifies the number of the picking container 1, the identification result may be sent to the background service system 13, the background service system 13 sends the flow direction information matched with the current picking container 1 to the container scanning controller 5, and the container scanning controller 5 moves the current picking container 1 to the corresponding reviewing station. Or the container scanning controller 5 may obtain flow direction information for all the pick containers 1 from the back-office service system 13 in advance.

According to the goods sorting and conveying device provided by the embodiment of the invention, the track is arranged on the ceiling of the warehouse, so that the occupation of the ground space of the warehouse during automatic production can be reduced, the commodity storage rate of the ground space in the warehouse is improved, the types and the quantity of commodities stored in the warehouse are improved, and the goods sorting and conveying device is suitable for being used in large warehouses, urban interior door points or warehouses of large supermarkets, and the universality is improved. The goods picking and conveying device can effectively solve the combination of on-line and off-line physical stores, so that the field frequency can be stored in a large warehouse in a suburb, and also can be stored in a gate point or a large supermarket in a city, the shopping demands of customers can be more quickly corresponded, and the time effectiveness and the user experience of orders are improved.

Moreover, the container scanning controller can identify the picking containers to obtain the flow direction information of the picking containers, so that each picking container automatically and accurately moves to the corresponding rechecking table, the automation degree of the goods conveying process can be improved, the physical consumption of a goods picker is reduced, and the efficiency and the accuracy of the whole goods picking process are improved.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1, the review stations include a single container review station 9 and a container confluence review station 10. The single-container rechecking platform 9 is used for rechecking and packaging goods in the single picking container 1; the container confluence rechecking station 10 is used for rechecking and packaging the goods in the picking containers 1 in a unified way. Preferably, when the picking containers 1 are moved to the container confluence reviewing station 10, the picking containers 1 belonging to the same order task are moved to the same container confluence reviewing station 10.

Accordingly, still referring to fig. 1, the track 30 includes: a main track a, a first branch track B and a second branch track C. Wherein, the main track A is a common moving path of each picking container 1; the first branch track B is used for guiding the picking container 1 to move from the main track A to the container confluence rechecking table 10; the second branch track C is used to guide the movement of the pick container 1 from the main track a to the single-container review station 9. One or more track segments may be provided, depending on the amount of picking tasks required.

Through setting up the branch track, can be with the categorised transmission of picking the goods container 1 that needs get into different types of rechecking platform, make the goods container 1 of picking arrive corresponding rechecking platform accurately and reliably, can also reduce the crowded degree of the track section that is close to the rechecking platform, improve transmission efficiency.

After the rechecking table scans the picking container 1, the rechecking system prompts the operator about the packaging type, confluence and the like of the picking container according to the scanning result.

Fig. 1 shows a structure of arranging the cargo picking and conveying apparatus of the present invention in a warehouse, where a rack 11 is placed in a left area of the warehouse, a review table is placed in a right area, for example, three rows and two columns of review tables are provided, a left column is a container merging review table 10, and a right column is a single container review table 9. The main track A surrounds the periphery of the shelf 11 and is in a C shape with a right opening, two open ends of the C shape are connected through a first branch track B, and the first branch track B is positioned between the rightmost shelf 11 and the single container rechecking table 9. The second branch track C is in a C shape with an opening to the left, and the second branch track C is disposed around the path of each review stage except the first branch track B.

This embodiment make full use of warehouse top and goods shelves and recheck platform just to the space, can improve the security of transmission operation, in case pick goods container because the trouble drops, can not bring the safety influence to the operation area that is close to goods shelves and recheck platform department yet, and most tracks are located the region that the warehouse top is close to the edge in addition, simple to operate, and are difficult to exert an influence to central authorities' operation area.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1, the cargo picking transportation device further includes a track steering mechanism 6 disposed at a junction between the main track a and the two branch tracks, wherein the track steering mechanism 6 is configured to receive a control signal from the container scanning controller 5 to adjust to a state of connecting the main track a and the branch track to be entered, so as to enter the current picking container 1 into the matched branch track and move to the predetermined review station.

This embodiment provides a track steering mechanism 6 to enable the picking container to selectively enter the matched branch track when the extension direction of the branch track is not consistent with the extension direction of the main track a, which is equivalent to establishing a connection relationship between the main track a and the different branch tracks, so that the picking container can be reliably moved to the corresponding branch tracks.

In a specific embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the connecting section of the first branch track B to the main track a is located on the extension of the main track a, and the connecting section of the second branch track C to the main track a is arranged at an angle to the main track a, for example, at 90 ° in fig. 4, or may be an acute angle or an obtuse angle.

Correspondingly, the track steering mechanism 6 comprises a moving slide 61 and a turning slide 62, a first end of the turning slide 62 is connected with the second branch track C, the moving slide 61 is used for receiving a control signal of the container scanning controller 5 and switching between a first position and a second position, the first position is located between the main track a and the first branch track B, and the second position is opposite to a second end of the turning slide 62. The moving chute 61 and the turning chute 62 are provided with driving means, and can respectively realize independent movement to move the picking container 1.

Fig. 5 is a left side view of fig. 4, when the picking container 1 needs to move to the first branch track B, the container scanning controller 5 makes the moving slide 61 in the first position and ensures that the moving slide 61 is in the operating state, and the picking container 1 on the main track a will move to the first branch track B through the transition of the moving slide 61.

When the picking container 1 needs to be moved to the second branch track C, the container scanning controller 5 makes the moving slide way 61 be at the first position and be at the first position, and ensures that the moving slide way 61 is in the running state, the picking container 1 on the main track a will move to the moving slide way 61, then the container scanning controller 5 makes the moving slide way 61 switch to the second position, and makes the moving slide way 61 face the second end of the turning slide way 62, and at this time, ensures that the turning slide way 62 is in the running state, and the picking container 1 will move to the turning slide way 62 and move to the second branch track C. Thereafter, the moving slide 61 may be reset to the first position.

As shown in fig. 4, the first branch track B and the main track a are arranged at an interval along the length direction, the second branch track C is vertically arranged at one side of the first branch track B, the connection end of the second branch track C is arranged at an interval with the first branch track B along the length direction, and the connection end of the second branch track C and the first branch track B along the width direction are arranged in a manner of being deviated towards the direction far away from the main track a. The turning chute 62 is a quarter arc chute. To effect the switching of the moving slide 61 between the first and second positions, as shown in fig. 5, a guide rail 63 may be provided on the ceiling 12 to provide guidance for the movement of the moving slide 61.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1, the cargo picking conveyor of the present invention further comprises a disengagement trigger 7 disposed on the track 30 at a position corresponding to each review station for triggering upon receiving a release command from the container scanning controller 5 to disengage the picking container 1 from the track 30 into the corresponding review station.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 1, the escape trigger 7 may be provided at a position corresponding to the container merging and reviewing station 10 on the first branch trajectory B, and at a position corresponding to the single-container reviewing station 9 on the second branch trajectory C.

The embodiment can automatically drop the picking container 1 when moving to the preset rechecking table, realize the automatic circulation from the conveying device to the rechecking table, and ensure that the picking container 1 accurately enters the preset rechecking table.

The disengagement trigger 7 may be triggered in a variety of ways. In some embodiments, the picking container 1 is suspended from the rail 30 by electromagnetic attraction, and thus may be electromagnetically activated to disengage the picking container from the rail 30. In other embodiments, as shown in fig. 3, the release trigger 7 is disposed on the fixed rail 31, the release trigger 7 has a contact point with the hook 21 of the suspension member 2, and when the release trigger 7 receives a release command from the container scanning controller 5, a trigger force is applied to the hook 21 to actuate the hook 21 and release the picking container 1 from the hook 21. For example, the hook 21 has an inverted T-shape, and both ends of the transverse portion of the inverted T-shape structure can be retracted inward to release the support of the picking container 1, so that the hook 21 is restored after the picking container 1 is dropped.

The container scanning controller 5 may determine whether the pick container 1 has reached a predetermined review station in two ways. First, the judgment is made according to the time required for the picking container 1 to move from the position of the container scanning controller 5 to the preset rechecking table. Secondly, a scanning component is arranged on the disengaging trigger 7, the goods picking container 1 is identified through the scanning component, and the identification result is sent to the container scanning controller 5; the container scanning controller 5 judges whether the picking container 1 arriving at the current disengaging trigger 7 arrives at a preset rechecking table according to the identification result, if so, a release instruction is sent to the current disengaging trigger 7, otherwise, the picking container 1 is enabled to move continuously, and the judgment is continued when the picking container 1 is to be moved to the next disengaging trigger 7.

Since the rail 30 is provided on the ceiling 12, in order to reduce the impact force applied to the picking container 1 when it falls down and prevent damage to the goods, as shown in fig. 1, the goods picking and conveying device of the present invention further includes a container slide 8 provided between the rail 30 and the reviewing table for guiding the picking container 1 separated from the rail 30 to the reviewing table. For example, the container slide 8 may employ a ramp or spiral descending guide slide.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2, the goods picking conveyor further comprises a hanging member 2 for hanging the picking container 1, a rail 30 is provided on the suspended ceiling 12, and the hanging member 2 is provided on the rail 30. As shown in fig. 3, the rail 30 includes a fixed rail 31 and a sliding rail 32, the fixed rail 31 is disposed on the suspended ceiling 12, the sliding rail 32 is slidably disposed with respect to the fixed rail 31, for example, the sliding rail 32 may be a belt or a roller, and has high friction, so that the hanging member 2 has a certain friction when being mounted on the sliding rail 32, and can move along with the sliding rail 32. The bottom of the hanging member 2 can be provided with a hook 21, and the hook 21 can be an inverted T-shaped structure, so that the picking container 1 can be hung on the hook 21.

As shown in fig. 1, the first and second branch tracks B and C each form a closed transfer path with the main track a. Thus, when the container rechecking table fails to perform the packing rechecking in a short time or the rechecking capability does not meet the conveying capacity of the picking containers 1, at least part of the picking containers 1 can continuously move forwards from the branch track to the main track A, so that the picking containers 1 continuously move around the closed conveying path to wait for the rechecking table to recover the normal working capability in a mode of prolonging the moving path.

The embodiment can automatically process the abnormal state in the picking process, does not need human intervention, can improve the automation degree of the picking process, places the picking containers 1 to be crowded on the track 30, and improves the safety of the picking process.

Further, a landing area may be further provided at a predetermined position of the track 30, and the landing area may correspond to the main track a or the branch track. When the rechecking table has a fault for a long time or the front track has a fault, the picking container 1 can be released to the landing area firstly. This approach can reduce the wasted power consumption of the cargo picking conveyor.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1, the main track a is provided with a mounting area 3 for the picking container 1 to be mounted on the main track a. After the picking of the goods is finished, the picking container 1 is mounted on the suspension member 2, and the suspension member 2 in the area is low in height, so that the picking container 1 can be conveniently mounted by the picking personnel.

In order to facilitate the mounting of the racks 11 in the respective areas, a plurality of mounting areas 3 may be provided on the main track a. As shown in fig. 1, the transverse track sections of the C-shaped main track a are respectively provided with a mounting area 3, since the shelves 11 are arranged according to the left and right areas, and a channel is reserved between the shelves 11 in the two areas, the mounting areas 3 can be located at the positions corresponding to the channel, so that the picking personnel can perform mounting operation after picking from the shelves 11 in the two areas.

Further, the goods picking and conveying device further comprises a spacing maintaining component 4 which is arranged on the main track A and is positioned at the downstream of the mounting area 3, and the spacing maintaining component 4 is used for maintaining the preset distance spacing between the adjacent picking containers 1 by judging the time difference of the adjacent picking containers 1 passing through the spacing maintaining component 4.

For example, the spacer members 4 are located adjacent the mounting region 3 to allow the sorting of the pick containers 1 to occur as early as possible so that there is sufficient distance to sort the pick containers 1. Or may be located on a branch track.

After a new picking container 1 is mounted on the rail 30, the distance between the interval maintaining part 4 and the previous picking container 1 is controlled, so that the adjacent picking containers 1 do not interfere with each other, and the reliability of transmission is improved. The interval keeping part 4 is internally provided with a control unit which can calculate the time difference of the adjacent picking containers 1 passing through the interval keeping part 4, if the time difference is less than the preset time difference threshold value, the distance between the two picking containers 1 is relatively short, and the distance between the two picking containers needs to be adjusted.

In a specific embodiment, the interval maintaining member 4 includes a driving member and a blocking member, the blocking member is movable in a direction perpendicular to the rail 30, the driving member drives the blocking member to move, and if the interval between the last pick container 1 and the previous pick container 1 after the pick container 1 is mounted is less than a preset distance interval, the blocking member is extended to temporarily block the movement of the newly mounted pick container 1; if a predetermined distance interval is reached between the loaded pick container 1 and the previous pick container 1, the blocking member may be retracted to move the newly loaded pick container 1 along the rail 30.

The following description will be made of the specific operation of the cargo picking system of the present invention with reference to fig. 1 as an example.

(1) The order picker picks the order and then puts the picking container 1 into the picking container 1, and the picking container 1 is mounted on the suspension member 2 in the nearby mounting area 3.

(2) The movement of the sliding rail 32 in the rail 30 drives the hanging members 2 to move clockwise along the arrow a1, and the distance between two hanging members 2 is controlled by the interval keeping part 4 to ensure that the preset interval distance between the adjacent hanging members 2 is satisfied.

(3) Referring to fig. 6, the goods picking system further includes a background service system 13 for receiving the order goods provided from outside and the corresponding information of the picking container 1, and determining the flow direction information of the picking container 1 in combination with the order, including the branch track and the review station number to be entered by the picking container 1. The background service system 13 will pass the flow information to the container scan controller 5.

The receptacle scan controller 5 is configured to obtain flow direction information for the current pick receptacle 1 from the back-office service system 13 based on the identification of the pick receptacle 1 number. Specifically, after the container scan controller 5 scans the identification of the pick container 1, the identification result is matched with the flow direction information to control the flow direction of the pick container 1. Meanwhile, the container scanning controller 5 may also feed back the operation result of the current picking container 1 to the background service system 13.

(4) If the picking container 1 is to be moved to the single-container re-checking station 9, the container scanning controller 5 controls the moving slide 61 to be switched to be aligned with the turning slide 62, and the picking container 1 moves to the second branch track C through the moving slide 61 and the turning slide 62 in turn and moves along the arrow C1. Meanwhile, the moving chute 61 may also feed back the moving result to the container scanning controller 5.

Upon movement to a predetermined single-container review station 9, the container scan controller 5 sends a signal to the drop-off trigger 7 to release the designated hanger 2 to drop the pick container onto the corresponding single-container review station 9. Meanwhile, the escape trigger 7 may feed back a signal to release the specified suspension 2 to the container scan controller 5.

(5) If the picking container 1 is to be moved to the container confluence reviewing station 10, the container scanning controller 5 makes the moving slide 61 between the main track a and the first branch track B, and the picking container 1 is moved to the first branch track B through the moving slide 61 in turn and moves along arrows B1 to B2. Meanwhile, the moving chute 61 may also feed back the moving result to the container scanning controller 5.

Upon moving to a predetermined container confluence checking stage 10, the container scanning controller 5 sends a signal to release the designated hanger 2 to the escape trigger 7 to drop the sorting containers 1 onto the corresponding container confluence checking stage 10. At the same time, the detachment trigger 7 may return a signal to the container scan controller 5 that the designated suspension 2 is released.

The picking containers 1 corresponding to the same order task preferably enter the same container confluence rechecking station 10, and the picking containers 1 may be closely adjacent to each other or may be mixed with the picking containers 1 corresponding to other orders. Therefore, the goods in the same order can be rechecked and packed at the container confluence rechecking table 10, and the rechecking and packing efficiency is improved.

When the picking containers 1 are distributed to the rechecking tables, the background service system 13 enables the picking containers 1 corresponding to the rechecking tables to tend to be distributed evenly, so that the production tasks of the rechecking tables are average, and the picking efficiency is improved to the maximum extent.

The review station is in communication connection with the background service system 13 and is used for providing information on whether the order goods are correct, the packaging type and/or whether the current sorting container 1 needs to be split/combined after the sorting container 1 is identified.

(6) In the event of a failure or insufficient processing capacity at the review station, the pick container 1 on the first branch track B may continue to enter the main track a along arrow B3 and move along arrow a 2. The pick container 1 on the second branch track C may continue along arrow C1 into the main track a and move along arrow a 2.

Secondly, the invention also provides a picking method based on the cargo picking system, and in one embodiment, the picking method comprises the following steps:

step 100, moving the picking container 1 along the track 30;

in step 200, the container scanning controller 5 identifies the picking containers 1 and obtains the flow direction information of the picking containers 1 according to the identification result, so that each picking container 1 moves to a corresponding review table.

In this embodiment, the container scanning controller accessible discerns the goods container of choosing and obtains its flow direction information to make each goods container of choosing automatically accurately move to corresponding recheck platform, can improve the degree of automation of goods transportation process, reduce the physical demands of the person of choosing goods, thereby improve the efficiency and the accuracy of whole goods process of choosing.

In some embodiments, the step 200 of obtaining the flow direction information of the picking containers 1 by the container scanning controller 5 according to the identification result, so that moving each picking container 1 to the corresponding review station specifically includes:

step 210, the container scanning controller 5 obtains the branch track and the rechecking table number to be entered by the picking container 1 according to the identification result;

the container scan controller 5 moves the picking container 1 from the main track a to the container merging review station 10 through the first branch track B or to the single container review station 9 through the second branch track C at step 220, which is performed after step 210.

In some embodiments, after obtaining flow direction information for the pick container 1 via step 200, the picking method of the present invention further comprises:

step 300, the container scanning controller 5 sends a state control signal to the track steering mechanism 6;

step 400, the track steering mechanism 6 receives the state control signal and adjusts to a state of connecting the main track a with the branch track to be entered, which is executed after step 300.

This embodiment enables the pick-up containers to be selectively brought into the matching branch track, corresponding to the establishment of a connection between the main track a and the different branch tracks, so that the pick-up containers are reliably moved to the respective branch tracks.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 4, the step 400 specifically includes: if the picking container 1 is about to enter the first branch track B, the moving slide 61 is switched to a first position between the main track A and the first branch track B; if the picking container 1 is about to enter the second branch track C, the moving slide 61 is switched to the second position opposite to the turning slide 62.

In some embodiments, during the step 200 of moving the current picking container 1 from the track 30 to the review station, the picking method of the present invention further comprises:

step 500, the container scanning controller 5 judges whether the picking container 1 reaches a preset rechecking table, if so, a release instruction is sent to the disengagement trigger 7, otherwise, the picking container 1 continues to move;

in step 600, the release trigger 7 triggers the release instruction to release the picking container 1 from the branch track into the corresponding review station.

Wherein step 500 is performed after 400 and step 600 is performed after 500. The embodiment can automatically drop the picking container 1 when moving to the preset rechecking table, realize the automatic circulation from the conveying device to the rechecking table, and ensure that the picking container 1 accurately enters the preset rechecking table.

Alternatively, the step of the container scanning controller 5 determining whether the picking container 1 arrives at the predetermined review station in step 500 may specifically include: the receptacle scan controller 5 determines whether the pick receptacle 1 has reached a predetermined review station based on the time required for the pick receptacle 1 to leave the receptacle scan controller 5 and reach the predetermined review station.

The embodiment has a simple way of judging whether the picking container 1 reaches the preset rechecking table, and can judge whether the picking container 1 reaches the preset rechecking table in a short time, so as to prevent the picking container 1 from continuously moving along with the track 30 to exceed the preset rechecking table due to long time occupied in the judging process.

Optionally, the step of the container scanning controller 5 determining whether the picking container 1 arrives at the predetermined review station in step 500 specifically includes:

step 510, identifying the picking container 1 through a scanning component arranged on the disengaging trigger 7, and sending the identification result to the container scanning controller 5;

and step 520, the container scanning controller 5 judges whether the picking container 1 at the current disengagement trigger 7 reaches a preset rechecking table according to the identification result, if so, a release instruction is sent to the current disengagement trigger 7, and if not, the picking container 1 is enabled to continue to move. Until the next trigger 7 is released, the scanning determination step 520 is performed.

The embodiment can more accurately judge the separation time of the picking container 1, does not need to obtain the time required by the picking container 1 to reach the predetermined rechecking table through a plurality of experiments, and can improve the universality.

In some embodiments, in the event that the container review station fails or the review capability does not meet the delivery capacity of the picked containers 1, the picking method of the present invention further comprises: at least part of the pick containers 1 are moved from the branch track to the main track a so that the pick containers 1 continue to move around the closed transport path.

In some embodiments, the picking containers 1 belonging to the same order task are moved to the same container confluence reviewing station 10 while the picking containers 1 are moved to the container confluence reviewing station 10.

In some embodiments, prior to step 100, the sorting method of the present invention further comprises: the pickup container 1 is mounted on the main rail a at the mounting area 3.

The above detailed description is provided for the cargo picking and conveying device, the cargo picking system and the cargo picking method provided by the invention. The principles and embodiments of the present invention are explained herein using specific examples, which are presented only to aid in understanding the method and its core concepts. It should be noted that, for those skilled in the art, it is possible to make various improvements and modifications to the present invention without departing from the principle of the present invention, and those improvements and modifications also fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A cargo picking conveyor comprising:

-a rail (30) provided on the ceiling (12) of the warehouse, along which rail (30) the picking containers (1) can move; and

and the container scanning controller (5) is used for identifying the picking containers (1) and obtaining the flow direction information of the picking containers (1) according to the identification result so as to enable each picking container (1) to move to the corresponding rechecking station.

2. The cargo picking conveyor according to claim 1, characterised in that the flow direction information includes a path of movement along the track (30) and a review station number.

3. The device for picking and transferring goods as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the review stations comprise a single container review station (9) and a combined container review station (10), the track (30) comprising:

a main track (A);

a first branch track (B) for guiding the picking containers (1) from the main track

(A) Moving towards the container confluence rechecking station (10); and

a second branch track (C) for guiding the picking containers (1) from the main track

(A) Moving towards the single-container review station (9).

4. The device for picking and transporting goods as claimed in claim 3, characterized by further comprising a track steering mechanism (6) arranged at the junction of the main track (A) and the two branch tracks for receiving control signals of the container scanning controller (5) and adjusting the main track (A) to a state of connecting the branch tracks to be entered.

5. The device for the picking transfer of goods according to claim 4, characterised in that the connecting section of the first branch rail (B) to the main rail (A) is located on the extension of the main rail (A), and the connecting section of the second branch rail (C) to the main rail (A) is located on the extension of the main rail (A)

(A) Angled, wherein the track steering mechanism (6) comprises:

a turning chute (62), a first end of the turning chute (62) being connected with the second branch rail (C); and

a movable slide (61) for receiving a control signal of the container scanning controller (5) and switching between a first position and a second position, the first position being located on the main track

(A) And the first branch track (B), the second position is opposite to the second end of the turning slideway (62).

6. The device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a disengagement trigger (7) provided on the track (30) at a position corresponding to each of the reviewing stations for triggering, upon receiving a release command from the container scanning controller (5), to disengage the picking container (1) from the track (30) into the corresponding reviewing station.

7. The goods picking conveyor according to claim 1, characterised by further comprising container runners (8) provided between the rail (30) and the re-checking station for guiding picking containers (1) exiting the rail (30) to the re-checking station.

8. The cargo picking conveyor according to claim 7, further comprising a hanger (2) for hanging the picking container (1), the rail (30) comprising a fixed rail (31) and a sliding rail (32), the fixed rail (31) being provided on the suspended ceiling (12), the sliding rail (32) being slidably provided with respect to the fixed rail (31), the hanger (2) being provided on the sliding rail (32) and being movable with the sliding rail (32).

9. The goods picking conveyor according to claim 3, characterised in that the first and second branch rails (B, C) each form a closed conveying path with the main rail (A).

10. The device for picking and transporting goods as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that the main track (A) is provided with a mounting area (3) for the picking containers (1) to be mounted on the main track (A).

11. The goods-picking conveyor device according to claim 10, further comprising a spacing maintaining member (4) provided on the main track (a) at a position downstream of the mounting area (3) for maintaining a predetermined distance interval between the adjacent picking containers (1) by judging a time difference between the adjacent picking containers (1) passing through the spacing maintaining member (4).

12. A cargo picking system, comprising:

the cargo picking conveyor as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11;

a picking container (1) for receiving goods;

and the rechecking platform is used for rechecking and packaging the goods in the picking container (1).

13. The cargo picking system of claim 12, wherein the review station comprises:

the single container rechecking platform (9) is used for rechecking and packaging the goods in the single picking container (1); and

and the container confluence rechecking platform (10) is used for rechecking and packaging the goods in the picking containers (1) in a unified way.

14. The goods picking system according to claim 12, characterized in that the goods contained in each picking container (1) are goods of a plurality of orders, part or all of the goods of an order.

15. The goods picking system according to claim 12, characterized by further comprising a background service system (13) for receiving corresponding information of order goods and the picking containers (1) provided externally and determining flow direction information of the picking containers (1) in combination with the orders;

the receptacle scan controller (5) is configured to obtain flow direction information of the current pick receptacle (1) from the background service system (13) in dependence of the identification of the pick receptacle (1).

16. The goods picking system according to claim 12, characterized by further comprising a background service system (13) for receiving correspondence information of order goods provided externally and the picking container (1);

the rechecking platform is in communication connection with the background service system (13) and is used for providing information of whether the order goods are correct, the packaging type and/or whether the sorting container (1) needs to be split/combined currently after the sorting container (1) is identified.

17. A sorting method based on the cargo sorting system as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 16, comprising:

-moving the pick container (1) along the track (30);

the container scanning controller (5) identifies the picking containers (1) and obtains flow direction information of the picking containers (1) according to the identification result so as to enable each picking container (1) to move to a corresponding rechecking table.

18. The method for picking items as claimed in claim 17, wherein the step of the container scanning controller (5) obtaining flow direction information of the picking containers (1) according to the identification result, so as to move each picking container (1) to the corresponding reviewing station specifically comprises:

the container scanning controller (5) obtains the branch track and the rechecking table number to be entered by the picking container (1) according to the identification result;

the container scanning controller (5) moves the picking container (1) from the main track (A) to the container merging and reviewing table (10) through the first branch track (B) or to the single container reviewing table (9) through the second branch track (C).

19. The method for picking up goods as claimed in claim 17, wherein after obtaining the flow direction information of the picking container (1), further comprising:

the container scanning controller (5) sends a state control signal to the track steering mechanism (6);

and the track steering mechanism (6) receives the state control signal and adjusts the state to a state of connecting the main track (A) with the branch track to be entered.

20. The method for picking items as defined in claim 17, further comprising, during the movement of the current picking receptacle (1) from the track (30) to the reviewing station:

the container scanning controller (5) judges whether the picking container (1) reaches a preset rechecking table, if so, a release instruction is sent to a disengagement trigger (7), otherwise, the picking container (1) continues to move;

the disengagement trigger (7) is triggered after receiving the release instruction, so that the picking container (1) is disengaged from the branch track and enters the corresponding rechecking table.

21. The method for picking items as claimed in claim 20, wherein the step of the container scanning controller (5) determining whether the picking container (1) reaches a predetermined review station comprises:

the container scanning controller (5) judges whether the picking container (1) reaches a preset rechecking table according to the time required for the picking container (1) to leave the container scanning controller (5) and reach the preset rechecking table.

22. The method for picking items as claimed in claim 20, wherein the step of the container scanning controller (5) determining whether the picking container (1) reaches a predetermined review station comprises:

-identifying the pick container (1) by means of a scanning component provided on the disengagement trigger (7) and sending the identification result to the container scanning controller (5);

the container scanning controller (5) judges whether the picking container (1) at the current disengagement trigger (7) reaches a preset rechecking table or not according to the identification result, if so, a release instruction is sent to the current disengagement trigger (7), and if not, the picking container (1) is enabled to continue to move.

23. The method for sorting goods as claimed in claim 18, wherein in case of a failure of the container re-check station or a re-check capability not satisfying the transportation capacity of the sorting containers (1), further comprising:

moving at least part of the picking containers (1) from the branch track to the main track (A) to continuously move the picking containers (1) around the closed transmission path.

24. The goods sorting method according to claim 18, wherein the sorting containers (1) belonging to the same order task are caused to move to the same container confluence checkstand (10) while the sorting containers (1) move to the container confluence checkstand (10).